Home is wherever you are
by Wunsleh
Summary: Full summary inside! contains major halo 4 spoilers, you have been warned!
1. Chapter one - Goodbye

**Summary: **The Master Chief struggles to move on after Cortana's death, despite him being Sierra 117. But when he is thrown into another galaxy where they face a threat just as big as the Covenant can he lock up his emotions like he did in the past to help in the fight against the Reapers?

**Update 10-11-12: **Just fixed up some grammar mistakes ;)  
**Update 11-11-12**: Posted summary inside after Andrithir notified me of my mistake regarding spoilers in summary.

Welcome to my new story which just happens to be a crossover! The setting of this story is not a happy one. This shows what happens to the Master Chief after the events of Halo 4 and his struggle to cope with the death of Cortana.

Throw in a new dimension that just happens to be Mass effect makes things even better.

Before you shrug it off, please at least give it a try ;)

And yes, this chapter is very short but I didn't want to go further because this was the perfect place to stop.

I'll try to keep the OOc'ness to a minimum!

Haven't decided on whether I choose for a male or fem shep, but my thoughts go the fem (not for romance!)

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Part one - Goodbye

One more thing, this will start off slow, so no dimension jumping in chapter one or two ^^.

Chief could only stare ahead, not having the willpower to reach for his light on his helmet, to notify the pelican of his location.

He sighed and closed his eyes, ignoring the wounds and bruises that were inflicted upon him in his fight against the Didact.

"_You persist too long after your own defeat."_

_The Spartan twirled around, his Br85 gripped tightly in his hands; he knew he was running low on ammo, a quick glance showed he had 15 rounds left, with no extra mags._

_His eyes darted from the left to the right, knowing that the Forerunner was baiting him. He slowly took a few steps back, never lowering his guard even an inch._

_When he couldn't find the origin of the voice he turned around and continued his trek to the center of The Composer, where he would deploy his havoc nuke._

"_Come then, Warrior have your resolution." The Didact calmly spoke as he appeared behind the Master Chief._

_On instinct he once again turned around, his finger already on the trigger only to be slammed to the ground by the Promethean's force._

_John felt the air leave his lungs as he slammed into the walkway and skidded along the energy bridge before with a certain grace only a Spartan could, came to a halt, one hand on the ground for support._

_He looked to the Didact and then towards the Havoc nuke, he knew he had to make a choice, either try and fight the forerunner or go for the nuke and set it off, killing them both in the progress._

_He decided for both, he grabbed his sidearm and while he sprinted for the nuke he fired the gun, aimed at the Didact's. He knew that it wouldn't work but if it could stall him for a couple of seconds it was all he needed._

_Unfortunate for him it didn't work; the Didact grabbed him in his force field and forced him away from the bridge, applying pressure to the Chief all the while._

"_So misguided."_

_John knew that he couldn't break out of; he tried it anyways, only to be met with stabs of pain as his opponent applied even more pressure._

"_Humanity's imprisonment is kindness." The Didact stated as he closed his held out hand into a fist._

_The Chief who was used to pain wasn't going to let him have the satisfaction of hearing him groan in pain and stayed silent._

_The Forerunner turned around when he heard whispers._

_Multiple forms of Cortana rose up from the energy bridge._

_In that case, you won't mind if we return the favor. "She said with anger lacing her tone._

_The Didact who hadn't thought of her as a significant threat replied just as easily. "Your compassion for mankind is misplaced."_

"_I'm not doing this for mankind!" with that she shot forward and entangled his arms and trapped them both with some sort of energy that had the same color as the bridge. _

_The Chief who was no longer trapped fell down and slammed with his upper body on the bridge before slipping down until he gripped the edge of the bridge with his hand._

_He looked down and knew that even though he had survived similar situation he didn't want to push his luck. With a grunt he managed to get both his arms on the bridge and slowly climbed back up._

_He reached for his frag grenade and without hesitation he sprinted towards the Promethean that threatened all mankind and rammed his hand between the openings of his armor plating and planted the frag grenade there._

_The Didact responded with a punch that cracked the Chief's visor and sent him flying backwards._

_John could only look as the Didact once again tried to imprison him. _

_The frag grenade went off and sent the Forerunner stumbling off the energy bridge._

_The Chief rolled on his shoulder and looked over the edge, watching the enemy that had pushed him to his limits fall to his death._

_He turned his attention back on the havoc nuke and he knew what he had to do. He tried to stand up but immediately fell back down, it seemed that after all the fighting he had done in his entire life finally became too much for him in the end._

_He crawled slowly to the weapon of mass destruction; his breathing was slow and shallow._

_The temptation to slip into unconsciousness was very tempting to just let the darkness envelope him and let someone else take up their weapons just this once._

_But instead he kept inching closer and closer to the bomb until, he, finally reached for it and grabbed it with one hand._

_He looked up to planet earth, the jewel of humanity, the one planet they couldn't afford to lose, because if they did, humanity would become extinct. He knew that by setting off the nuke he would die, Spartans may be tough but no one could possible survive a blast of that magnitude._

_His death in turn for the safety of everyone else…It was a price he'd gladly pay._

_Before he slammed his other hand on the detonation trigger of the nuke his last thought went out to Cortana, how she had always been there for him, fighting the battles he couldn't. Because of her he was able to do the things he was able to do, destroying the Halo ring, preventing the flood from wiping out everyone in the galaxy, and this, preventing the Didact from the destruction of mankind._

_Cortana was so much more than just a helpful AI. She was his friend, his last friend, and that triggered something in him he never had felt before._

_He looked down before slamming his hand on the button _

_His whole world exploded._

If that was how it would end he would've been okay with that, finally closing his eyes, because behind that helmet of his there was still a human being, even though he was augmented for so much more.

But then another thing happened.

_He was on his knees in a similar position when he set off the nuke._

_He looked around him and he saw that there were blue data streams around him that looked very much like Cortana's body color._

"_Cortana?" There was no response_

"_Cortana, do you read?" The Chief tried again but there was still no response._

_He grew a bit worried, Cortana always responded, for her not to answer was the same as not joking around, it just didn't happen._

_He looked around and was about to give up hope and turned around when he saw her._

_She was the size of an average human, but still much shorter than him, he was perplexed, she was always small, only fitting on his All he could say was; "How?"_

_Cortana smiled. "Oh I'm the strangest thing you've seen all day?"_

"_But if were here" he was already thinking about the multiple scenarios, that the bomb didn't go off and that they were teleported somewhere._

_That perhaps the Didact was messing with his mind._

_Or that he was in fact dead and this was some sort of afterlife he didn't believe in, Death was just that…Death._

_Cortana looked at him with her blue eyes, containing a spark of happiness. "It worked. You did it. Just like you always do."_

"_We did it," He corrected her before looking around. "So how do we get out of here?" He asked as he looked back at her._

_Cortana looked down and sighed she looked back at him with a form of acceptance he had never seen before._

"_I'm not coming with you this time." She looked straight at his helmet, even though she seemed okay with what she just told him, her eyes told him otherwise, it was filled with sadness._

_John however was all but okay with it and mentally shook his head in disbelief and slight anger, not to her, but towards the situation overall. "What?" _

_Cortana glanced back down, as if she was looking for something "Most of me is down there. I only held enough back to get you off the ship." Her voice almost cracked._

_Cold fear settled in John's gut, his heart started beating rapidly, faster than it had have gone before. "No! That's not!" He swallowed and bit back his fear. "We go together or not at all."_

_Cortana gave him another smile, a sad one at that. "It's already done."_

_John wasn't hearing any of it though. "I'm not leaving you behind!"_

""_its okay, John"_

"_I'm not leaving you here!" he said resolute, refusing to listen to her._

_Cortana walked forward, "John…" she reached out for his chest plate and actually touched him. "I've waited so long to do that." She placed her other hand as well and laid her head on his chest._

_The dam that bottled all of John's emotion finally reached its peak and threatened to crack. "Don't make me beg, Cortana." He placed one hand behind the small of her back, feeling the heat emit from her despite the layer of suit that was between them or the fact that she was still an AI._

_Cortana slowly lifted her head and looked at his helmet's visor, how she wished that she could look at his face just once more._

_Chief however looked down, his dam was breaking, cracks where everywhere and it would just be a matter of moments before he would do something he never as a Spartan did before. "It was my job to take care of you, I promised…" He said, his voice trembled slightly and would've gone unnoticed if Cortana didn't know him any better._

_Cortana moved in his field of vision. "We were supposed to take care of each other."_

_If AI's could cry Cortana knew that she would've the moment John had said that. "And we did."_

_A lone tear slipped through and made its way down John's face. "Cortana…Please…" another found his way down his cheek. There was just so much pain and loss a Spartan could take_

_Cortana touched him once more before slowly walking back, her eyes never leaving John's._

_Chief who knew the feeling of loss, knew that this was just as much as he could take, Johnson's death was as bad as John thought it would ever be. He was proven wrong in the end. ""Wait…" he reached out with his hand._

"_Welcome home, John" she blew a kiss towards him and slowly disappeared._

_Chief was defeated, by a wound that even the Didact, his knights, or even the entire covenant fleet with all its forces couldn't inflict. A stab to the heart that not even the most resourceful doctor could fix._

"_Home is wherever you are…" he barely managed to whisper and forced his knees to keep him standing. There was just so much a Spartan could take._

"_I'll miss you John…"_

The past hours he was drifting around among the debris, and all he could think about was her.

He finally noticed the pelican that was floating towards him, and for a slight moment, the unbreakable man considered for a very brief moment to simply just let go, to reach for his helmet and just let go.

But Cortana saved him and she knew that there could always be more trouble ahead and that the human race could still be in danger. But despite that, she had saved him not for humanity's sake but for his own, because she was his friend, his last friend that finally left him as well.

He briefly wondered what life would be if he turned civilian, if he would settle down, but he immediately slammed hat idea into the ground, no one could replace his protector, no one could replace Cortana.

He felt the darkness reach for his mind, and for once he just let it.

* * *

That's the first one! I hope you enjoyed it.

Most of you people that played Halo 4 knows that it slightly differs from the original cut scenes but I decided to tweak it here and there.

And yes I absolutely hated that Cortana died. It was a beautiful scene but I still hate it because…well that's obvious…

Don't forget to Review please!

I once again apologize for this update but it was neccesary! That said, next chapter comes out tomorrow or the day after!


	2. Chapter two - Plan B

Holy crap! Apparently a lot of people like the first chapter :P well it's long overdue but here's the next chapter, I apologize that it took so long, I got a social life you know ^^.

**Edit 29-11-2012: didn't add linebreaks so that's what the edit is for.**

Anyways on to answering the reviews!

Terror dark Calws army: I know I'm cool :) oh wait…yeah the story's cool too!

Saddas74: Haha! Well I'll have to disappoint you then because no galaxy jumping yet.

Pheonixbat: I hated it as well, but 343 did make it with a bang.

Shaggybear32: Slipspace* ( noticed a mistake in the response)

Edboy4926: Wouldn't you like to know *wink *wink

Zaraen: Voila! Now…don't drool

Jon harper: thanks for the review:) Sorry to say but the infinity won't be transferred to the Mass effect galaxy it will be just the Chief.

Denal: that's why I like Halo 4, it's got a lot of emotion which I always wanted to see in the Chief. I do believe (hope) that Cortana didn't end with Halo 4 and that she will come back in either 5 or 6.

I didn't read their stories but I did read Anne whynn's In the Shadow of Gods. And damn that's a good one, one of the best stories I've read on , it's a shame though that she didn't complete it, she's planning something though.

Guest 11-8-12: I liked the read though, and I do believe that they wouldn't just kill off Cortana; I think she'll be back. Without Cortana there isn't a Chief(and vice versa).

Guest 11-9-12: She'll come back! If they don't they ruined their first attempt at a trilogy.

Guest 11-9-12/2: *wink * wink * wink* wink* that's all I'm giving.

Guest 11-9-12/3: Read your fellow guest above ;)

DevineWhisper16: I'm not going to spoil but I do try to keep everyone's whishes In mind.

Luffyfan1: they did an amazing job but I only hope they'll fix some way to get Cortana back in the story.

Andrithir: pff I already responded to your review so bugger off! :P enjoy chapter 2 :P

Guest 11-10-12: ah the ending of me3 that caused such explosion that it still rings my ears today :P. I still have faith in 343 but they need to get their act together and listen to their fans. At first I was like, how dare they mess with our beloved Halo universe…but then I started to believe that they have something planned for Cortana and the Chief, because they wouldn't just kill her off without some reason other than showing John's emotion. She'll come back.

Guest 11-10-12: Spartans never die, their just missing in action. Cortana has showed she has just as much willpower as a Spartan. that said, treat your fellow readers with respect if you want to troll and hate go somewhere else, everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Oh and I loved mass effect 2 but hated Me3's ending, oh no he didn't! oh yes…I did.

RamenKnight: Thank you! And because your so kind here's your reward!

Guest: I'll not respond to your review since it's not directed at the story ;P, but please refrain from using this story's review page as a discussion page ^^

Person: I'll try my very best!

Guest 11-15-12: I'm sorry I didn't update sooner! But don't worry about the therapist stuff, I got one too ;)

Kira kyuu: It's primarily a fps true, but the story 343 managed to pull off really made sad to say the least.

Guest: 11-16-12: I'm sorrryyyyyyyyy but here it is!

Guest 11-18-12 this will start roughly halfway through Mass effect 2.

Master-of-surprise: thanks, I hope I won't disappoint.

Guest: 11-19-12: okay, because you asked nicely!

Guest 11-20-12: The ending was beautiful, it was just not necessary :P anyways, thanks for the kind words and I hope not to disappoint.

Guest 11-21-12: I'm not planning to give him any power ups or let him live longer because of the Librarian. I mean come on! The man's already insanely strong and the augmentations he got during his Spartan training most likely already lengthened his maximum lifespan.

Phew! That was a ridiculous amount of reviews…I want more! Hahaha seriously though, from here on out í'll only respond to anonymous reviewers in the story and respond to signed reviewers through private messages.

Sorry that this chapter is a bit rushed but sometimes that's just the way it is.

Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or mass effect they respectively belong to 343 Industries/Bungie and Bioware…ugh Bioware…

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Chapter two - Plan B

Chief looked out the window while he stood in an empty room as he looked upon earth, he was deep in thought about the Didact and the fear that someday he could return. He also thought about the Covenant's interference and he knew that war was on their doorsteps again. But all the while he was musing over the battles fought in the past and the battle that would be fought in the probably near future he couldn't keep his mind focused. It kept wandering off…He mentally shook his head.

"Mind if I join you?" a voice asked that snapped him back from thinking about her.

He turned around and already knew that it was Lasky. "Of course not, sir"

The Captain stepped forward. "At ease, Chief," he said with an inaudible sigh. "It feels kind of odd for you to call me sir." He stood beside the Master Chief as they both looked at their planet.

"Beautiful isn't she?"

Chief who was the strong silent type decided on doing just that.

Lasky continued after a small pause. "I don't get to see her often enough," He said, trying to ease into a conversation with him, but he knew that the Chief was either not seeing the hints or was just not in the mood. "I grew up on New Harmony. Attended Corbulo Military Academy. Never saw Earth in person until I was an adult, but…I still think of her as home.

The Spartan's thoughts were already drifting off, he noticed that he was doing it more and more, he knew he needed to focus but when he lost her something inside him died. He didn't know what it was because he never had felt such strong emotions before. And every time he had a moment to himself or when he got lost in his own mind, the first thing he thought about was her.

Lasky knew that Chief wanted to be alone, but he had to help his friend just like the Chief had helped him back when the academy was under attack from the Covenant. "You don't talk much, do you?"

He closed his eyes for a moment; he had to at least try. "Chief…I won't pretend to know how you feel," now his thoughts wandered back to Chyker Silva who he had feelings for, only to be killed hours after he kissed her. It was indescribable how it had felt; it was a pain that he had relived years later when Sully had died a few years later. He was stationed on Eridanus II when the Covenant invaded.

John grimaced behind his visor so it seemed he was as stoic as he ever was.

The Captain glanced at the ground for a moment. "I've lost people I care about, but… Never anything like you're going through."

The Spartan at that moment knew that Lasky understood what Cortona had meant to him, but he was a soldier, a Spartan and he knew he had to act that way. "Our duty as soldiers is to protect humanity. Whatever the cost." Despite all the indoctrination that had been pulled the curtains over his eyes, they were slowly opening again, and even though he believed his own words he also believed in something else.

Lasky expected such a reply but still wasn't prepared for it. "You say that like soldiers and humanity are two different things. Soldiers aren't machines. We're just people."

The Chief somewhat abruptly turned his head to his commanding officer.

"That includes you Chief, you may look like a machine but you're still made of flesh and blood that feel emotion, and you can't suppress that no matter what people try," he glanced at his fellow soldier. "Spartans are humans too." Lasky turned around and walked away. "I'll let you have the deck to yourself."

"She said to me once, about being a machine." He softly spoke, and while he said that all the pain and suffering he had felt when she died came back in full force. He turned around and slid to the ground, using the railing and lower wall as support. He had his arms leaned on his knees and tried to push back his feeling of guilt. If he had done things just a bit differently, like entrusting Lasky with Cortana, so he could've delivered her to Halsey, wherever she may be.

But he wouldn't be a Spartan if he didn't try absolutely everything in his power. First he would contact Halsey, and then when he would gather the remains of the Didact's ship in search for anything that could contain Cortana or even just a part of her.

He stood back up, determined to find a way, He owed her that much. It was his duty to protect humanity and it was his job to protect Cortana. In his eyes both Humanity and Cortana were one and the same.

The next day.

Chief walked through the corridor towards the Spartan armory, where apparently he had to relinquish his armor like the rest of the Spartans aboard the Infinity. Personally he didn't mind it; he had been wearing his armor for years without a break, but still to hand it over, it made him feel uneasy even though it was officially UNSC property.

The unfortunate part was that his request to go to Earth had been denied until further notice. He entered the Armory and noticed that it was huge. Everywhere there were machines that helped with the stripping them from their armor.

He couldn't help but think back to the days when he was one of the few to wear the first Mark IV armor and almost took an hour to put on.

"Chief"

John looked at Sarah palmer and gave her a nod. "Commander"

"Congratulations on a job well done, Master Chief." Sarah said with and gave her a nod of her own.

When the Chief didn't answer Sarah tried to get him into a small conversation. "What are your plans now that you saved Earth again?"

"The plan was to go to Dr. Halsey; But Commander Laskey wants me on the Infinity until further notice."

"I heard about that AI, I take it that's why you want to visit her?" Sarah asked.

The Chief didn't respond.

Sarah smirked. "So Sierra-117 has a soft spot after all. Well the reason why Lasky doesn't want you leaving the ship is because of two reasons," She held up one finger. "One; the public doesn't know your back yet and let's face it, going down and facing the music now would be a disaster without preparation."

"I'm a soldier; press isn't what I was trained for." Already John was growing annoyed by the press, and this time he didn't have Johnson who helped ease the tension like last time on Cairo station.

Sarah ignored him and held up a second finger. "And two, they're afraid you might try something like, for example going to Dr. Halsey."

John tilted his head slowly to the right. "What does Dr. Halsey have to do with this?"

"You aren't so smart without that AI of yours to back you up are you?"

John could give her numerous examples where he had led his Spartan team without the help of Cortana but decided against it.

"Captain Lasky knows you probably want to speak to her but from what we know is that Oni has her arrested and under interrogation."

Catherine Halsey was despite her strict nature the closest thing he had to a mother figure and gritted his teeth in anger. He had to stay calm. "Why is she under arrest, on what grounds?"

"Abducting children for her twisted experiments does that ring a bell?" Sarah sarcastically said.

John mulled it over and then walked past her heading for platform 117.

She turned around, looking towards Chief's retreating back. "I'll talk to him"

John stopped and looked over his shoulder before going a nod and then stepped on his platform, spreading his arms when he stood in front of the machine.

After years of fighting, he could finally remove his armor.

"Captain?" Sarah palmer asked into a seemingly empty private quarters of Captain Lasky.

A light was switched on that revealed Captain Lasky sitting in a chair behind his desk. His quarters consisted of a large two person bed and a desk. To Sarah's right there was a door that led to his shower. Behind his desk was a small window that showed the vast galaxy.

"What can I help you with, Sarah?" Lasky asked, his hand held a cup with what Sarah presumed to be coffee.

"It's about Spartan 117, sir." She asked with a straightened back, her hands clasped behind it.

"At ease, you know about my policy about the whole sir thing in private."

Sarah smiled. "I'd hope you could reconsider on letting the Master Chief go to Earth."

"I'm afraid not, I got orders from higher up, they want him here for the time being," he rubbed his forehead. "I don't like it either, but we can't do anything about it now."

Sarah didn't particularly liked the large Spartan, but she respected him, he was the sole reason she was breathing right now. "What if, someone would give him clearance to leave the ship in perhaps a pelican?"

Lasky grinned. "And that pelican would just so happen to have the coordinates to Dr. Halsey's location at Oni headquarters in California?"

Sarah smirked. "It can happen"

Lasky nodded. "Then make it happen."

Palmer turned around and headed for the Spartan wing, wondering how the hell Lasky knew about Halsey's location.

xXx

Jane Shepard had lived through many life and death situations but having survived the destruction of the Normandy wasn't something she expected.

But she did only to be thrown back into another life or death situation. She wasn't particular fond that she was working with Cerberus but now wasn't the time to complain.

She brushed a hand through her dark brown locks and sighed, her mission to recruit warlord Okeer had taken an unexpected twist that ended up with the warlord dead and her in a lock with Grunt who had almost immediately attacked her after being freed from his tank.

But that was already weeks ago and now more had filled the slots. Subject Zero aka Jack proved to be as capable a fighter as she was at cursing.

She suppressed a shudder when she thought back when Jack got into a verbal pissing contest with Zaeed.

With each member she recruited she felt more confident that they could defeat the Collectors and prevent the Reapers from wiping out Galactic Civilization.

After feeding her space hamster, Willy she decided to head for the CIC and plot their next course, towards Haestrom.

When she entered the CIC she walked up to Joker who was once again in a discussion with Edi.

"I don't care what your 'opinion' is." Joker said, emphasizing with his fingers.

Jane rubbed her face, already irritated with the banter between the two. At first it was amusing to watch but after hearing it for the umpteenth time it was becoming annoying. "Enough, Joker, head for the Dholen system, Haestrom."

"Copy that, Commander"

Satisfied, she turned around and headed back to the elevator planning on talking to her newest addition of her team, Kasumi who was surrounded by mystery.

xXx

John who was fully suited flew in his pelican above the military base of Oni, having Lasky's credentials with him was a big bonus on reaching Halsey. Not only did it allow him to fly over a no fly zone, it would also give him entry to the building.

The reason he was heading to Dr. Halsey was because he needed confirmation. He had to know if gathering the remains of the Didact's ship would help get Cortana back into his life.

He was no expert with AI's in anyway but the way he saw it, every part that contains Cortana was a step closer to his goal.

He landed in his pelican and stepped outside, glad that the press hadn't gotten wind that he was back and well.

That didn't keep marines and other personnel from gaping and pointing though.

Two marines who were walking in front of him stopped and went wide eyed. "That's impossible!" One said and looked to his buddy for confirmation.

"You're…the Chief! You saved us all, man! Can I get your autograph or something?"

John mentally sighed in annoyance and walked past them, heading for the big double doors that led to the interrogation centre.

The guard that stood at the security checkpoint almost slipped and fell when he saw John-117 entering.

John stopped in front of the man. "I'm here to talk to Dr. Catherine Halsey."

The man opened and closed his mouth a few times. "You-You're The Master Chief!"

The Chief closed his eyes for a moment and counted to ten in his mind. "I'm here to talk to Dr. Catherine Halsey." He repeated, remaining as cool-headed as he ever was.

I'm afraid I-I can't do that, unless you have permission." The guard half stuttered, not liking it one bit he had to ask such questions to the savior of humanity.

Without saying anything he handed over a datapad which Lasky had given him.

"Thank you, sir. If you follow my colleague he'll set you up in a room, where Halsey will be waiting." The guard motioned for the other guard and the Chief followed him.

The guard that took the lead looked over his shoulder every few seconds. "H-how's does it feel to be a hero?" Clearly the guard was young and inexperienced in war.

John didn't reply and instead was thinking about what to say when he saw her. It felt weird to finally see her again. He had so much to say, to ask. And he didn't know how to, for years he was the strong silent type, except around her. But now he didn't know what to say.

"Here it is, it was great meeting you, sir" The guard said with a nervous smile and gestured to the door where a guard was stationed.

He took several deep breaths and rested his hand on the door handle. He looked down on the handle for a second before pushing it down and opened the door.

The woman sitting behind the table had grey hair and it was clearly showing that her age was catching up to her.

Her lips parted and let out an almost inaudible gasp. "John?"

John slowly walked over and stopped in front of the table. He wanted to ask her if she was okay but didn't and instead said. "She's gone."

Catherine didn't need to ask who he meant, it was clear he was talking about Cortana; you didn't have to be a genius to figure that out. He had lost everyone else. From his fellow Spartan II's that went MIA to Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson and Miranda Keyes.

She looked down at her hands which were lying on the table and sighed. "When?"

"Three days, four hours, eight minutes."

The doctor gave a sad smile. "So she held on longer than I initially expected."

"It wasn't rampancy." John cut her off.

Dr. Halsey tilted her head. "Then, what happened?"

John hesitated. "She gave her life to safe everyone."

Catherine was amused to listen to John talk about an AI like she was a living and breathing being. It was refreshing to see someone who was sharing her same vision. "I know it's difficult to hear this but she was probably already suffering from rampancy so she wouldn't have existed for much longer anyway."

"You would've found a way around it…for her."

Halsey gave a sad smile. "Now onto the reason you're here."

John reached behind his helmet and grabbed the chip Cortana used to house and laid it on the table. "There has to be a way to get her back."

"Perhaps, I'd need access to the control panel where she was stationed since I take it her Data remains are not in there?" Halsey said and cast her eyes towards the chip.

"That's going to be a problem, the panel is destroyed." John said, his gaze never leaving Cortana's chip.

Catherine scratched her chin. "Then I'd need access to the network she was in, from there I could find some of her data and work my way from there."

John gritted his teeth. "That's another problem; she was plugged in on an enemy ship that got destroyed."

The doctor sighed in defeat. "Then I can't help you, I'm sorry John."

The Spartan wasn't willing to give up. "There has to be a way, there are still parts of the ship that can contain data."

"It would take years and technology we don't have, she gave him a sad smile. "I'm sorry, but maybe it's time to let her go, she earned her rest."

John felt cold fear tighten its hold on his chest and spread through his entire body. "No, she earned people that would fight for her," He slammed his fist on the table causing it to almost crack under pressure. "If you won't help me I'll find someone else who will."

"She means just as much to me but I know when I see a lost cause." She wanted to drift off to better times when they still had the resources capable of doing such feats. Unfortunately with the glassing of Reach things were out of their reach for the time being. "The chances are very small that we'll be able bring her back."

John reached for the chip and the moment he touched it a voice filled his head. _'Don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it.'_

He put the chip back into his helmet and turned around and walked for the door. "You didn't care much for odds when you decided to abduct children and augment them." He knocked on the door and the guard opened it. "Goodbye, Dr. Halsey."

The door shut behind him.

Halsey could only look at the door and she knew she would never see him again. "I'm sorry…" she whispered, and for once her cocky and know it all attitude brought her nowhere.

John calmly walked out of the base and back to his pelican. He was greatly angered that Halsey wouldn't help him, not even for her. But it didn't matter, the Didact's ship remains where already being hauled in and technicians would look over the parts and hopefully they'd find something. He knew Captain Lasky would help.

He already knew his next step; he would volunteer to be stationed on one of the ships that were heading for Requiem. There he would go back to the facilities they had explored in the hopes of finding more data.

He would find a way, and if that meant going back to Requiem and tracing his steps back, then so be it.

* * *

Chapter two done and ready!

I wont give an ETA because i don't want to disappoint people.

If you like the chapter dont forget to review! ( or if you want to provide constructive criticism)

anyways, until next time!


	3. Chapter 3 - All or nothing!

**Edit: fixed some obvious grammar mistake as well as misspelling the Sangheili race (Elites). I accidentally named them Jangheili ^^**

First of; apologies for the extreme delay I was just not in the mood lately to write a chapter, I tried, god know i did :P but even then what i wrote was horrible so i deleted it and started over again :P.

Second: there's a small part about translight engines etc. And i'll tell you now, i don't know shit about that. I researched as best i could but i just couldn't find anything that would properly explain it to me.

So bear with me on that and if there's an expert on Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engines than by all means contact me and i'll make adjustments!

Also normally i adress the wonderful Reviewers who took their time to write me a message with either compliments or constructive criticism but my friends are waiting at the bar and i didn't want to keep you guys and gals waiting another day!

If there were any questions i didnt answer please send me a pm and i'll gladly answer them for you!

Reviewers:

Edboy4926, Forget the rest, Harbinger of Kaos, Wallsofmine, Ramenknight, Shaggybear32, Korten, Kira Kyuu, Devinewhisper16, saddas74, Knightwolf1875, Phoenixbat, MASTER-OF-SURPRISE (yes caps is required for epic names like that), Major wallace, Jprice410, Perseus, Guest 12/3/12, Masshalo, Karinx10, Furionknight, Guest12/21/12, Guest 1/7/13, RBCyphonic, Guest 1/11/13

Holy J! A lot of reviewers and i love you all for it :)

**Oh and because Twalyer is such a lovely person I'll bold this text. for you, i'd like to sincerely thank your constructive criticism! It just kept me up all night thinking about what you said and i finally was able to fall asleep when i realized something...I don't give jack shit about what you or any other flamers might say ;) i accept constructive criticism, no flamers! But thanks for upping my review count though! Some people on only look for high review count stories (even though every story in it's own right is great on this site) so yeah thanks, and to the readers on this story please browse to the reviews to read his wonderful comment on this story!**

Haters gonna hate ^^

I'd also like to apologize for the spoilers I added in the summary when this story started, I deeply apologize and I'll make sure it never happens again!

One more thing, some might say that i've been a bit harsh on Halsey but what you have to understand is that the Chief is slowly becoming more of a human being instead of the killer machine he used to be.

As for MC/Cortana pairing...Yes this will most likely end that way, but not anywhere in the near future! If I'd have to give an estimation i'd say at the very least nothing until the end of ME2.

That also means i'm going to dive into the ME3 story with this...eventually.

Also Shepard has a slightly larger part in this chapter but that will change with the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or mass effect they respectively belong to 343 Industries/Bungie and Bioware…ugh Beaware…

* * *

Chapter Three - All or nothing!

The Master Chief stepped aboard the UNSC Burton after a rather successful retrieval mission on Requiem. The entire second fleet had departed from Earth after the intel they received from the Infinity.

Initially his request to accompany the Second fleet was rejected, but after meeting with an old acquaintance things had gone in his favor..

_John stood at attention in lord Hood's office, with him sitting behind his desk._

_Terrence slowly stood up. "uh at ease, John.." he said awkwardly. He smiled and nodded. "It's good to see you again, son."_

_John relaxed, though barely noticeable through his armor. "Likewise, sir."_

_Lord Hood suppressed a smile. He hadn't changed that much, he was still as much a talker as he was in the past._

"_even though it's good to see you again, i doubt your here on a social visit."_

_The Chief nodded. "I request permission to join the fleet that's heading for Requiem."_

_Terrence raised his eyebrow in surprise before smiling. "In the past it was either Cortana or Johnson," his smile faltered. "But who delivers that information now?"_

"_I...Have my ways." He slowly said._

_Lord hood inwardly smiled, he walked over and reached out with his hand._

_John looked at his hand for a moment before shaking it._

"_You have made me proud, I owe you and the least i can do is grant you this favor, is there anything else?"_

"_one more request sir, when we arrive at requiem there are data-caches that could contain pieces of Cortana's data."_

_His superior nodded. "I'll make it happen. It's good to have you back." And for once he saluted John instead of the other way around._

_At first he didn't know how to respond but after a couple of awkward seconds he returned the gesture._

xXx

John walked through the corridor that lead to Engineering. He had talked to Dr. Ellen Trate and she said that she had indeed found data traces of Cortana.

He had asked her if it was she could put all the data in a chip. When she had said that it was indeed possible he had handed her Cortana's old one.

The Spartan reached the doors and as they slid open he already heard her talking. "Bry Bry how's data cache five?"

'Bry Bry' furrowed his brows. " still half an hour to go, there's some data corruption but I think i can make it work." He shoved his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

"What's in the data?" John asked the male specialist.

"Mostly memories of the AI, almost ever data cache has her memories but what we need is a piece of her brain, once we have that we can start thinking on how to recreate the rest."

John gave a slight nod and turned back to Ellen. "the remains of the Didact's ship has there been any data?"

Ellen looked confused for a moment before she widened her eyes in realization, "You mean the ship that got destroyed when it reached Earth?"

Another nod was her asnwer.

"They have found quite a bit, not sure if it contains anything of the AI though."

"her name's Cortana, and where have they stored her data?"

It's on a non combat ship, it's en-route to Requiem and should meet up with us in a couple of hours. They intend to compare their findings with ours."

"Keep me updated, Doctor." The Chief said and left them to their work.

Even though their fleet size was big enough to withstand an attack, he couldn't help but wonder to where the Covenant had gone too. Did they leave the moment the Didact did? Or were they still lurking around?

And what was worse was that the Covenant who had an alliance with them were unable or unwilling to respond to any form of communication.

Rumors where whispering that perhaps the peace between them and the Covenant wasn't peace after all but more along the lines of a temporary truce.

He shrugged his thoughts off only to drift back to Cortana. _'damn__'_

xXx

"Commander Shepard, enter the password and receive a free gift!" a female voice said which originated from the advertisement holo.

Jane initially wanted to ignore the routine advertisement which common sight at the Citadel was. But her gut told her that it wouldn't hurt to check it out so she walked over.

She stepped in front of the holo screen and a female appeared, her face mostly covered by a black hood. "...Silence is golden" she said feeling a bit odd to be talking to an apparent advertisement, even though she knew this was Kasumi's way of contacting her clients.

"Good to finally meet you Commander Shepard, Kasumi Goto. I'm a fan!" The woman on the holo screen replied.

Shepard suppressed a smirk, she was somewhat relieved that her new companion wasn't as stuck up as Miranda or as violent as Grunt. "Has Cerberus filled you in on the mission?"

"Honestly i'm shocked they didn't come to see me sooner. "She answered with a bit of a cocky tone in her voice.

"Cocky eh? Well anyways, what's with the password and sneaking around in the engineering sector, are you in trouble or something?"

"And here I thought I was actually well hidden," Goto shrugged. "I'm the best thief in the business, not the most famous. I need to watch my step to keep it that way. Besides, Cerberus is an illusive group, I wasn't quite sure if this was legit."

"Satisfied?" Shepard asked with crossed arms across her chest.

"I have no doubts anymore. You're the real commander Shepard." The thief answered with a small smile.

The commander looked at her with a bit of skeptisicm. "what makes you so sure?"

"There's a certain...aura about you, like you've seen things, no one else has. Even without knowing what you looked like i knew it was you."

"I stand by what i said earlier,Cocky. But i guess that's a good thing."

Kasumi gave another shrug. "It works for me."

Jane decided to switch to another subject . "What brought you to Cerberus?"

"That's a bit of a story. Short version, they were looking for me, so i trailed them to find out why. Turns out they were looking for someone to join you on an 'important mission' and were offering a serious signing bonus. I also have a thing i needed help with that's why i made them a deal."

"I assume this deal is something i should know about?" Shepard asked, annoyed by the fact that Cerberus had kept her in the dark.

"Yeah i guessed it slipped their minds..."

"Right...that must be it..." she said sarcastically.

Kasumi chuckled. "I'm looking for my old partner's gray-box. A man named Donovan Hock took it, and i'm planning to take it back."

"If that's what Cerberus has promised you, we'll get it done." Jane answered, giving a single nod.

"It'll be fun! And if we're lucky you won't even have to draw your gun." Kasumi said with a smile. She then activated her omni tool and shut down the advertisement.

Shepard turned around and looked at the catwalk above the ceiling where the thief was standing.

"we should probably wrap this up. You look pretty silly, standing there talking to an advertisement," she placed one hand on her hip. "I'll see you on the ship shepard!" and with that she walked away.

Shepard grinned as she walked back to the rapid transport station. She was definitely going to like this one.

xXx

John walked aboard the research ship called Ichilion. All the data of Cortana had been compiled and put into the data chip he requested.

With that out of the way he intended to head back to the hangar to take a pelican back to the Burton once they had jumped back to Earth where he hopefully would be able to find someone that could reconstruct Cortana.

Most of the fleet had already jumped only Ichilion and a small escort was accompanying them.

All was quiet and well until...

"all crew, man your stations we got enemy contact incoming at 1100 km at our starboard!"

The Chief inwardly cursed and turned around and sprinted towards the bridge.

He dodged the marines who were sprinting towards the armory or their station preparing for the possibilty of a boarding party.

He rounded a corner and then through a double door that lead to the Bridge. He saw the Captain and walked over. "Sir" already standing at attention

The balding male Captain turned around and gave a nod to the spartan. "Chief, what can i help you with?"

"I'd like to know the fleet size of the enemy, sir." He stated.

The Captain turned his eyes back to the incoming ships that were easily seen through the ship's window from the cockpit where the two pilots were sitting. "18 Standard Covenant cruisers along with 4 CCS-class battlecruisers. We already recalled our pelicans but their still 15 minutes out."

"and we're with four frigates?" knowing the amount of escorts that were required for a high priority research ship as this.

The Captain nodded. "That's right, I've already contacted the other Captains and they are setting up a defensive line trying to slow their advance but with that amount of ships it won't matter much."

"What's so important on this ship that they're willing to sacrifice their lives for us?"

"Not for your AI if that's what your wondering. Our recon team has recovered an forerunner item that could give our technology a breakthrough."

"What is it?" the spartan asked.

"some sort of EMP device but they believe that it can be used as a long range weapon like our MAC guns"

"So one shot could disable an entire ship?"

"They don't know yet but if that's possible it could be a huge advantage," The Captain said resolute "And if the Covenant decides to start a war again this could turn the tide."

John already visualized in his mind exactly what the Captain said. One shot could for example take out a supercarrier's ship and a MAC round or two could tear the entire ship apart. This was technology that they had to have. "does the Covenant know we have this?"

The Captain widened his eyes. "it is possible. Our ground team which consisted of two squads of marines and two spartans raided a Covenant outpost and retrieved the device. So it could be that they sent out a distress signal."

"That would mean that with the defensive set up you and the Captains agree on already told the Covenant everything they needed to know."

The Captain nodded his eyes closed at the realization of their mistake. "that at least gives us some extra time," he tore his eyes away from the fight that happened hundreds of kilometers away or rather massacre. "Head to the armory, Spartan. If they indeed intend to board us then I want you protecting that device."

John nodded and turned around and exited the bridge.

"Captain Tvolka message from the Burton!" a communications officer shouted across the bridge.

"put it through" Tvolka ordered.

"Capta..Tvo...this is ..Com- Our sh...down...ram...cru..."

"Can anyone clear that up?!" the Captain barked.

"Negative sir, it must be because of the damage of the ship."

"give me a close up of the battle."

He turned to the screen which showed him what he asked. He sighed when he saw that the UNSC Burton was ramming into one of the cruisers that was unfortunately too close to maneuver out of the way.

"How far out is our ground team?" he asked his XO.

The Commander looked at the screen. "four minutes."

"Sir we got incoming!" an ensign shouted.

"Evasive actions!" he shouted towards the pilots but it was already too late.

Two cruisers had broken through the defenses and fired right away.

One beam lowered the shields while the other one hit the engines. The ship shook but remained otherwise intact.

"Damage report!"

"One Primary fusion drive is destroyed!"

Another bright blue beam hit its, target taking out one of the smaller engines leaving the ship vulnerable since it's maneuverability was severly reduced

The Captain cursed. This was a research ship not a battleship. "ready the archer missiles! Is the Mac cannon ready?"

"Yes sir, but this is an old ship we'd have to face the target." His XO stated the obvious fact.

"if they keep shooting at us like this it won't matter for much longer!" The Captain already knew that by taking out one of the primary fusion drives it would take the translight engine much longer to spin up and finally make the jump to slipspace.

He looked at the screen and then at the crew who were anxiously awaiting orders. He straightened his back and narrowed his eyes. "Turn the ship around, we have to cover the engines if we want any chance of escape. As soon as you have a firing solution, fire the MAC cannon and follow up with Archer missiles!"

He received acknowledgements and gave a small smile. If this was it then he would take out as many of those bastards with him as he could.

xXx

Sierra-117 reached one of the three armories on the ship and stepped inside. Inside it there were a dozen marines gearing up and checking their teammates equipment.

"Where are you headed, sir?" a random marine asked, hoping it would be at the location he was stationed at.

"Observation deck" was all he said.

The marine cursed and kept himself occupied by double checking his Ma5D assault rifle. "This is completely fucked up man! We don't stand a chance, we're going to get massacred!"

"Ryan shut the fuck up before i decide to help you, boy! If those ugly alien freaks want to kill us we'll give them one helluva fight!" the Sergeant roared and pulled Ryan to his feet, he patted him on the shoulder before he motioned for his squad to follow him.

John grabbed a M45D Shotgun and attached on his back. He then grabbed M6H pistol and clipped it on his thigh. Lastly he reached for an assault rifle and walked out the armory.

The ship shook when it took another direct hit. The lights flickered and he knew they were running out of time. He rounded a corner when he heard Tvolka's voice through the speakers.

"Boarding parties are 20 seconds out, most likely heading for the observation deck"

The Spartan sprinted the last meters and when he reached the observation deck he could see through the large glass windows on both sides that phantoms were incoming. He noticed that they had set up two automatic turrets at the doors he stepped through seconds ago.

He gripped the handle tightly and decided to guard the left side of the room. He walked over and noticed the marines relax slightly, knowing they had a Spartan on their side.

He noticed the phantom's attaching to the window.

"This is it boys!" the squad leader shouted and peered through his scope that was attached on his BR85 Battle rifle.

Before they could utter another word the glass that was in front of the phantom's docking system got blown away and revealed two Sangheili and at least two dozen Unggoys.

"Open fire!"

All at once everyone opened fire and the grunts were killed off easily, only the two Sangheili were stubborn to die. They sprinted out off the tube only to die moments later because of the relentless gunfire.

The Spartan glanced at the gun's display and knew he had about ten bullets left in the mag.

More phantoms attached themselves to the ship and they quickly opened fire again.

"Don't give them an inch!" the squad leader shouted over the roars of gunfire.

However this time the Covenant were prepared and had Kig-Yar with plasma shields on front. Behind them were at least a dozen Sangheili with their weapons aimed at the defense force.

Countless of bolts of blue plasma flew through the air and managed to score a few hits, before one of the elites threw a plasma grenade into the fray, causing the marines to scatter.

Taking the opportunity the first Covenant finally left the small confines of the tubes they were stuck in and immediately dove for cover, firing as they went.

John quickly reloaded and threw a grenade afterwards, knowing that the Sangheili would have to break cover in order to survive.

And so the Elite did and the Chief easily riddled him with bullets before moving to his next target with apparent ease.

He could hear the machine guns at the entrance spinning up and he knew that the covenant were taking ground. He fired his gun again and the two Jackals fell to the ground.

John was about to turn around when he noticed something from the corner of his eyes and quickly dove out of the way, narrowly dodging the plasma blade that was aimed for his head.

"_Demon!" _The Sangheili roared and he tried to pierce the Spartan again.

John dodged again, dropping his rifle as he did followed up by grabbing the Elite by the throat and wringing his blade out of his claw before stabbing his opponent through the chest with it

He then threw it towards a passing Elite and killed him instantly. He reached for his rifle and used it right away, killing off a couple of grunts.

"Hangar B has fallen, surviving marines are to pull back to corridor 2E and hold position with fith squad." The Captain's voice rumbled through the observation room.

He looked to his left and saw the marine behind one of the turrets drop dead to the ground with a purple needle sticking out of his left eyesocket.

He looked to the rest of the large room and saw that slowly but surely more and more Covenant boarded the ship, far out numbering the defense force.

He didn't let up and stepped in line with three other marines who were side by side firing their B85 Battle rifles and MA5D assault rifle. Dead at their feet lay the squad leader who had motivated his squad earlier.

More Sangheili entered the room and John's eyes widened slightly behind his visor when he saw Zealots amongst them.

He sharply turned around when he no longer heard the remaining Machine gun firing or spinning for that matter.

The soldiers at the door were dead, leaving only five left standing in the room. One of them stumbled backwards. "W-we have to pull back!"

The Spartan nodded firing off a couple more shots before following in their footsteps, but not before grabbing a grenade in both hands and threw them at the feet of the nearby grunts.

He turned around and ran for the door, slamming a lower class Elite against the wall who tried to take him down. As he ran through the door he quickly slammed the panel to close it behind him, locking it shut.

Two men stepped forward and welded it shut, hopefully buying time. A third set up an explosive device as a booby trap.

"Captain, this is the Master Chief. We have lost the Observation deck, how far out are the recon teams?"

"One Pelican remained but they have the device and are bringing it aboard, we're preparing slipspace jump. I want you to head to Engineering and make sure we hold onto the device."

"Copy, sir," he turned to the marines who had just been reinforced by two more squads and were setting up defenses at the end of the hall. "Don't let them through" was all he said.

"Hoorah!" the marines shouted before they locked and loaded their weapons.

He ran past them and headed for engineering. He wasn't an idiot, he knew that their forces were dwindling fast. This was Research ship and only had a handful or marines and no ODST as back up. But from what he heard the EMP device was escorted by a squad of ODST and two Spartans so hopefully that would be enough to stall the enemy's advances.

He reached for the data chip and peered at it. His chest constricted painfully and his breathing became somewhat shallow. _'Cortana...I could really use your help right now.' _He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Sierra-117, we have a problem, Zealot class Elites have found our escort team and they're pinned down at the corridor that leads to Hangar A. Rendezvous with them and retrieve the device!"

"Understood, Sir" he shut off his comm and took a left turn only to walk straight into a firefight.

'_Damn' _he mentally cursed before attaching his rifle to his back and grabbed the Shotgun instead.

xXx

Everyone was dead. Bodies were lying everywhere and only a few parts of the ship remained in their control and even then it were the Bridge, Engineering and the Engine room that were still hostile free.

Most of the other areas were under Covenant control, only a few were still under heavy fighting.

Master Chief stood up, his armor had numerous scratches and one small crack had appeared in the corner of his visor. Dead at his feet lay a pair of Hunters, a dozen Sangheili and numerous Unggoy.

He dropped the shotgun to the ground and grabbed his assault rifle again.

He continued his trek towards the Hangar, he knew he had to be close.

"Master Chief, we have lost contact with Recon. Double time it!"

"Understood sir, almost there"

He ran through a double door and came to an abrupt halt.

Lying on the ground in front of him was the Recon team tasked with defending the device. They were all dead, at least he assumed they were.

He carefully stepped over their limbs hoping to find the device,

"Master C-Chief, sir" a voice croaked behind him.

He turned around and saw one of the Spartans, clad in white slowly moving. He crouched down and tried to asses his wounds. "How bad is it?" he asked.

"bad, i-i'm not gonna make it...The Covenant took t-the d...device to the Engine room."

"why? And how do you know?"

"Don't know but w-we have translators embedded in our helmets."

John gave him a nod. "Can you stand? I'm going to bring you to a safe spot."

When he received no reply he sighed. He stood back up and turned around and started sprinting towards his new destination. "Captain, this is Sierra-117, The EMP device is at our engine room, send all available personnel there."

"I'm pulling out a squad of marines from Engineering. They can't activate the device, if that happens we'll lose our mac cannon!"

John couldn't see the significance of it but he followed the order anyway.

"Demon!"

The Spartan twirled around and fired his entire mag on the first Sangheili who came into his vision.

The Elite's shield dropped and he fell to his knee, he retaliated with firing his storm rifle that hit the Chief in his chest, dropping his shield as well.

John ran for cover while firing his rifle until he heard the clicking sound which meant his gun was empty. He dropped it to the ground and as another plasma bolt hit him in the shoulder, which managed to pierce through a weak spot.

He reached for his pistol and started firing back and felt satisfaction when he heard the Elite roar in pain.

He peered around the corner and saw that the Elite was holding his side. When he finally saw his shield regenerate he wasted no time and swapped his weapon with the shotgun on his back and charged straight in.

His opponent roared in anger and shot narrowly missing the Chief. When he saw that the Sangheili was taking proper aim he made a dive to the ground, shooting off one shell at the same time.

He smiled when he saw the Elite drop to the ground. His victory was short lived when he saw that in his moment of despair the Elite had dropped a plasma to the ground, a couple of feet away from the Chief.

'_Shit!' _he tried to scramble to his feet but it was too late and got slammed against the wall and slumped to the ground.

He could hear the warning sounds of his shield, indicating that they were completely gone. _'Gotta get up...GET UP!' _ he mentally shouted to himself.

With aching legs and a swimming vision he got to his feet and continued down the hall, grabbing the shotgun from the floor along the way.

When he finally found the engine room at the end of the corridor he double checked his equipment. He had one grenade left, three pistol mags and 17 Shotgun shells.

He carefully approached the big double doors, surprised that there weren't any guards stationed.

His unspoken question was answered shortly after when he heard screams and gunfire inside.

Wasting not another second he burst through the door and straight into a war zone.

It was complete chaos. Marines and the Covenant were everywhere, no proper cover no sides, the fight was everywhere.

He saw one of the soldiers fire a couple of rounds into a fallen Sangheili only to be pierced by a blade seconds later.

The Zealot class wielding the sword was shot down seconds later by a heavily wounded marine who had managed to fire a shot despite him missing his right arm.

"It's the Chief!" a female shouted and the marines cheered, their morale had been nearly crushed when the Covenant arrived. But with the arrival of the Chief they remembered what they were fighting for.

Earth.

John stood there and had only one thought in his mind._'For Cortana'_ and with that he jumped into the fray, slamming an Jackal to the ground and stomped his head.

xXx

John looked straight into the eyes of what could quite possibly be his executioner. His armor was riddled with dents and the damage that was already present on the armor had increased dramatically. He had a wound to his side which was caused by an energy sword, a through and through.

All the marines were dead, they had gone out while trying to hold off the Covenant, only to have failed miserably.

The Sangheili roared and with one final attack he slammed his blade into John's chest.

Having expected this he turned his body ever so slightly, hopefully causing the blade to miss his heart. With one final effort he shot his shotgun at pointblank range into the Jangheili's abdomen.

Spartan-117 fell to the ground and felt like he was slowly suffocating, dark spots appeared in his vision and he knew he was losing consciouness.. _'relax...have to relax, breath deeply...exhale...take another deep breath and let it out._He calmed ony slightly and felt he could breathe slightly easier._ 'look at your surroundings, focus on a particular object and don't lose sight of it. _

He looked at the first object he saw and and immediately recognized it as Forerunner tech.

It was glowing dark blue.

It was activated.

If that thing was set off he knew that every means of escape would get squashed under the Covenant's feet.

He suppressed a groan and reached for the nearest weapon which was his trusted shotgun._ 'Now or never!'_

He pushed himself to his feet and rammed a grunt out of the way and shot one of the few Elites left in the back of his disgusted head.

"Kill him before he reaches our holy R'tak!" one Zealot screamed, his lips parted, visualizing his rage.

John had no idea what the Zealot meant but it didn't matter. He dodged one of the mad swipes and barely dodged a plasma grenade which landed right next to the device. _'No!'_

"Initiating Slipspace jump, in three...two..."

John-117 desperately reached for the device and pulled it away from the engines but it was already to late. the moment the ship jumped the plasma grenade went off as well as the activation of the device.

"one...here we go!" the Captain said, relief clearly heard in his voice.

The device let out a blinding light and everything went dark, no sound nothing.

He could faintly here the shuffling of feet nearby, indicating the covenant were still here. Ignoring them for a second he opened his comm "Captain?" he received no reply. "Captain do you read?" again no response and he feared the worst.

He could hear the Elite trying to activate his blade but failed.

He grabbed an assault rifle from a nearby corpse and looked at the display, only to acknowledge what he already feared. The EMP device had shut down every electric device on the ship, as well as the Covenant's.

It was time to finish this, one way or another.

* * *

And that´s chapter three! Once again i´m sorry for the delay but that´s how it sometime is.

I can´t give an update because i have to update my other story as well so i´ll try my very best to post ASAP!

Favorite quote of all time: "Didn't you know? Spartans never die, they just go missing in actions"

ah and I'm sorry for any spelling or grammar errors!

I may have exaggerated John's injuries a bit...ah well!


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